With another hectic summer transfer window now done and dusted, we’re assessing how the Premier League’s big six clubs fared with their recruitment drives. We examine who were the winners and the losers during a flurry of activity which saw over £3billion change hands in deals involving England’s top-flight teams, with a grade given to each side.
Premier League Big 6 Transfer Window Report Cards
Arsenal
ARSENAL (GRADE: B-)
Major Summer Signings: Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle) – £75m | Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa) – £55m | Piero Hincapie (Bayer Leverkusen) – £34.5m | Christos Tzolis (Club Brugge) – £34m
After ending the club’s 22-year wait for a Premier League title, the Gunners set about further strengthening an already impressive midfield, with proven performer Bruno Guimaraes joining Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard in the heart of the team.
The departure of Leandro Trossard and expected sale of Gabriel Martinelli left a hole to fill on the left flank and Greece international Christos Tzolis arrived after scoring 43 times in 108 appearances for Club Brugge.
William Saliba’s back injury makes landing long-term interest Ezri Konsa a shrewd move, along with turning Piero Hincapie’s solid loan spell into a permanent switch. That should all be enough to again challenge for top spot in the Premier League table, but will failing to land a marquee forward after reported interest in Vinicius Junior and then Julian Alvarez come back to haunt them in the Champions League ?
Chelsea
CHELSEA (A-)
Major Summer Signings: Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa) – £117m | Maxence Lacroix (Crystal Palace) – £52m | Marco Palestra (Atalanta) – £43m | Geovany Quenda (Sporting Lisbon) – £40m | Valentin Barco (Strasbourg) – £34m | Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa) – £7.5m | Danny Welbeck (Brighton) – £5m | Jordan Henderson (Brentford) – free
It is no longer a surprise to see a summer of extraordinary player turnover at Stamford Bridge, with around £328m spent on strengthening the squad, while high-profile departures included Enzo Fernandez, Marc Cucurella, Andrey Santos, Nicolas Jackson and Liam Delap.
The most eye-catching buy was obviously England international Morgan Rogers for a club-record fee and he has already settled in well up front alongside good friend Cole Palmer and Joao Pedro. Marco Palestra, Geovany Quenda and Valentin Barco are highly-rated youngsters, but the Blues have moved on from just targeting talented novices to prioritising experienced Premier League players.
Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson appear to have been brought in with a mind to helping foster a more mature atmosphere in the dressing room, while the signing of Emiliano Martinez should end years of uncertainty in the goalkeeper position.
Liverpool
LIVERPOOL (B)
Major Summer Signings: Bradley Barcola (Paris St Germain) – £120m | Jeremy Jacquet (Lille) – £60m | Victor Munoz (Osasuna) – £34.5m | Ronald Araujo (Barcelona) – loan
Replacing club legend Mohamed Salah was a huge task, even if he did under-perform last season, but France winger Bradley Barcola certainly has the potential to excite the Anfield faithful in a similar manner.
Securing that primary target from PSG required some patience and negotiation but his arrival adds much-needed pace and quality to the flanks, as the Reds seek to get the best out of last year’s big buy Alexander Isak now he is back to full fitness.
Strengthening in central defence was also a priority following the departure of Ibrahima Konate and the ongoing injury problems of Joe Gomez and that has been addressed by the arrivals of Jeremy Jacquet and Ronald Araujo.
Spain international Victor Munoz has made a bright start and could be something of a surprise package, so now it is up to new head coach Andoni Iraola to reinvigorate a squad which lost its way and hunger under predecessor Arne Slot.
Manchester City
MANCHESTER CITY (B)
Major Summer Signings: Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea) – £125m | Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest) – £116m | Ayyoub Bouaddi (Lille) – £86m | Iliman Ndiaye (Everton) – £65m | Allan Elias (Palmeiras) – £34.2m
The Citizens had plenty of work to do after stalwarts Rodri, Bernardo Silva and John Stones followed Pep Guardiola through the exit door, along with Tijjani Reijnders, Savio, Omar Marmoush, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji and Nico Gonzalez.
Elliot Anderson was an early statement signing, but it felt for quite a while that Enzo Maresca would be left short on quality and quantity in midfield. However, City finally flexed their financial muscles by bringing in World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez and Ayyoub Bouaddi, the highly-rated 18-year-old Morocco international, to revamp that department.
Iliman Ndiaye and Allan Elias further add to the attacking options from wide areas, but there is a worrying lack of strength in depth behind Erling Haaland in the striker position.
Manchester United
MANCHESTER UNITED (C+)
Major Summer Signings: Carlos Baleba (Brighton) – £70m | Andrey Santos (Chelsea) – £50m | Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa) – £35m
The need for a midfield rebuild was primarily driven by the exit of Casemiro, as well as a serious injury for Manuel Ugarte, and United will be happy with the business done in this department. A policy of not getting drawn into bidding wars saw the club step away from interest in Elliot Anderson and Mateus Fernandes, but getting the experienced and technically-gifted Youri Tielemans for a relatively cheap price was backed up by the capture of Andrey Santos.
However, how this window will eventually be viewed depends on Carlos Baleba, who struggled for both form and fitness last term but at his best is a ball-winner who is strong in possession and can quickly turn defence into attack, rekindling memories of Bryan Robson and Roy Keane.
Unfortunately, United have done nothing to address their lack of cover at left-back and still look light in terms of out and out strikers, although the return of Marcus Rashford after 18 months away on loan could be a game-changer.
Tottenham
TOTTENHAM (C)
Major Summer Signings: Sandro Tonali (Newcastle) – £100m | Savio (Man City) – £85m | Mateus Fernandes (West Ham) – £85m | Omar Marmoush (Man City) – loan with £60m buy obligation | Jan Paul van Hecke (Brighton) – £52m | Mykhailo Mudryk (Chelsea) – loan with £75m buy option | Andy Robertson (free)
It has been an extraordinary summer window for Spurs, with the previously prudent transfer model of ex-chairman Daniel Levy thrown out of the window and replaced with big fees along with excessive wages. Tottenham have broken their record signing twice and no doubt overpaid in certain areas, but £100m man Sandro Tonali and Fernandes are instant upgrades in midfield.
Jan Paul van Hecke has arrived already accustomed to Roberto De Zerbi’s demands and the Italian got his attacking reinforcements when Savio and Marmoush signed from Manchester City. However, the loan addition of Mykhailo Mudryk from Chelsea does represent a gamble and how long will this new-look Spurs take to gel?
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